SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions has been named a finalist in both the 2012 Medical Marketing and Media Awards and the PM360 Trailblazer Awards, McKesson announced Friday.

McKesson was named a finalist by MM&M in the "Best Use of Direct Marketing to Consumers" category for its "Lap-Band Behavioral Call" campaign on behalf of Ogilvy Healthworld and Allergan. The MM&M Awards annually recognize creativity and marketing effectiveness in health care.

In addition, the "Lap-Band Behavioral Call" campaign also was selected by PM360 for the Best Direct Marketing to Patient Campaign Award. PM360 also selected McKesson's LEO Quality Care Program for the Best Persistence Campaign Award. The PM360 Trailblazer Awards are given to companies, marketers and brand managers representing top talent and brands. Selected by the PM360 editorial board from more than 800 award applications, finalists represent the most forward-thinking leadership of their fields.

The "Lap-Band Behavioral Call" campaign focused on consumers who had requested initial information about the weight-loss procedure, but had not responded to invitations to attend an informational seminar. Taking the leads generated through DTC efforts, McKesson developed an outreach solution designed to maximize conversion opportunities through live behavioral calls to help guide the consumer through the decision process.

Campaign strategies included assigning a McKesson patient support representative to each consumer to build personal conversations and crafting behavioral-based call center scripts to uncover barriers and help guide patients through the information-gathering and procedure-decision process.

As a result of the outreach, more than 5,000 incremental informational seminars were scheduled and 93% of patients who scheduled through the program attended seminars. This represented a six-fold increase in attendance for consumers that received phone calls, compared to those who only received emails, McKesson noted. In addition to the additional seminars scheduled, many patients bypassed the seminar phase with more than 2,600 scheduling a Lap-Band procedure and 1,000 scheduling an initial consultation with a surgeon.

The LEO Quality Care Program was conducted on behalf of LEO Pharma, makers of the Taclonex brand of products, and was designed to provide additional patient education materials and support to patients suffering from plaque psoriasis. The program featured three primary components — a patient start kit, a support line and follow-up emails and direct mailers.

The campaign results highlighted that patients who received additional support and education through the program were more likely to be adherent to their medications over time. For example, results demonstrated that patients who registered to receive communications from registered nurses and health educators were 20% more likely to receive a second and third prescription fill when compared to patients who only receive co-pay support.